The Medieval Origins of Fairy Tales

When we think of fairy tales, we think of imprisoned maidens, turreted towers, magic spinning wheels, wicked witches and demonic dwarves and dragons. Much of the iconography of these stories, particularly those from Europe, dates back to Medieval times. Some of them, such as the story of Hansel and Gretel, are even rooted in specific events.In today’s edition of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis meets author Nicholas Jubber whose book The Fairy Tellers reveals the surprising origins and people behind the world’s most influential magical tales.The Senior Producer on this episode was Elena Guthrie. It was produced by Rob Weinberg and edited by Thomas Ntinas.For more Gone Medieval content, subscribe to our Medieval Mondays newsletter here.If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!To download, go to Android or Apple store.